Thursday, April 30, 2009

I recently posted an abbreviated version of 'A Simple Plan' to give you the flavor of what it's about.

Here is the 'full' version, where I cover the plan in a lot more detail.

Sadly, it requires a significant amount of mental horsepower to fully understand.

here goes: So you want to change the world…

What follows is a detailed plan to do exactly that, change the world. Government building is tricky at best and even contemplating revolution is a hazardous pastime.

The main reason we haven’t had a full-scale revolt in this country already is due to there not being an acceptable alternative to the current system. Most will acknowledge that the ‘system’ sucks but it’s still the best damn system in the world today. They are right too, until now there has not been a socio-economic system that could rival capitalism.

Capitalism is the king of systems because it is the system of kings! Capitalism was born out of the monarchies of old as the kings knew a good thing when they saw it.

What good was it to be the master of all you surveyed if you couldn’t profit from it?

I don’t need to explain that in the beginning there were kings and eventually the kings laid claim to everything, all land, livestock and people were theirs to dispose of as they wished.

If you were a farmer, you farmed for the king. If you had a daughter, it was the king’s right to sleep with her. If you had livestock, it was the king’s right to slaughter the animals to feed his soldiers and guests. As long as you agreed to all of the above, you got to live!

It didn’t take too long for the kings to become hated. Along came the merchant class and the concept of money. Money changed the face of the world overnight! The serfs were freed and commerce began all because of the invention of money.

This is another concept that should require no explanation. Money, like time and religion are human inventions. Why few people are aware of these simple facts just goes to prove that the media and educational systems are working to keep the average person ignorant.

(And doing a damn fine job of it too I might add.)

Money used to be on the ‘precious metal’ standard but soon economies grew so large that there was not enough precious metal to keep a large-scale economy supplied with money. (They knew they were in trouble when they had to start minting fractional cents.)

Enter the printing press. (And inflated money.) Here is the best thing since sliced bread, paper money! Make as much as you want! So long as you don’t run out of trees, you’ll always have money.

The ‘paper’ standard has caused the reverse problem of the precious metal standard. The printing presses roll non-stop thereby ‘diluting’ the value of the money already in circulation.

Soon we will all have wallets filled with hundred thousand-dollar notes and we won’t be able to afford cab fare. (This is evidenced by the exponentially increasing amount of billionaires; soon the average schmuck will need to be a millionaire just to be able to afford to go to work for a living. Greece and Italy are living examples of this phenomenon.)

The writing on the wall here is ‘I’ve seen the future, I can’t afford it!’

Desperation is a terrible thing and a person becomes capable of the unthinkable if pushed hard enough. We need an alternative to capitalism and we need it quick or the streets of this nation will run red with the blood of the desperate and their victims.

The wealthy are too well protected; this leaves you with your ass-ets hanging out in the breeze. If there is no way to earn what you need to live then you are forced to steal it.

The government has proven time and again that it fails to protect the average citizen even in the best of times. The coming financial crisis will give birth to a crime wave the likes which have never been seen before and it will shake our society right to it’s very core if we don’t act before it’s too late.

Definitions

It is critically important when entering into the realm of paradigm shift that definitions be examined for the key terms to be expounded upon. Let’s start with the first much abused word that we will deal with throughout this work, Truth.

(trooth) 1. The quality of being true. 2. Something that is true. Curiously, this definition ends in my dictionary (the OAD) with the cautionary statement of not to confuse the truth with truism.

The truth is thought to be ‘self-evident’ meaning that it is ‘obvious’ to a rational person. According to the above dictionary definition of the word, truth is both relative and subjective. You will have to judge for yourself if there is any truth in the statements and proposals contained within this text.

I personally hold with the concept that the truth is self-evident. You may not agree with the truths presented here but if you are honest and can cut through the rationalizations and justifications, the truth is what remains.

The next word on the list is freedom.
(free-dom) 1. The condition of being free, independence. 2. Frankness, outspokenness. 3. Exemption from a defeat or duty etc. 4. Unrestricted use.

Recent events have our leaders calling upon us to prepare to sacrifice in order to protect our ‘freedom’. This got me to wondering just what ‘freedom’ they were talking about. We have freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the freedom of ownership.

Now freedom of religion is a given in any civilized society. Religion has caused more wars and bloodshed than any other single invention of mankind. “You mean God didn’t write the bible?” you may ask, the truth is no. If you ask a cleric they will tell you that the bible was written by MEN who were ‘inspired’ by God.

Freedom of speech is relative. We can say what we like so long as it isn’t perceived to threaten the status quo. Once we cross that line we risk being imprisoned or killed for out our ‘frankness’.

Our Constitution guarantees us a ‘free’ press but how free is it when they are all owned by private corporations who have the right to determine what is and isn’t ‘newsworthy’? Every major newspaper and local television station in this country are owned by a small handful of multimedia corporations.

This leaves us with the freedom to own stuff. This isn’t necessarily a guarantee for the common person as much as it is for the wealthy. Not only is their right to own things guaranteed but they also have the power to send the sons and daughters of the poor off to fight to defend US interests around the globe.

(If capitalism is by definition the private ownership of trade and industry, how can the US have any 'interests' at all?)

So ‘our’ freedom is actually zip, we aren’t free and we have no freedoms to protect. The wealthy can steam-roll us for any reason; anytime it suits them to.

The next word I wish to present is slave.

(slayv) 1. A person who is the property of another and obliged to work for them. 2. A person who is dominated by another or by an influence. 3. A person who is compelled to work very hard for someone else, a drudge. 4. A mechanism controlled by another mechanism and repeating its actions.

When discussing the human condition, freedom and slavery are extreme opposites. Definition two is the insidious one here. As it points out a slave isn’t necessarily ‘owned’ by anyone but compelled to do what he or she does by an influence.

Have you ever wondered why money is sometimes referred to as the ‘Almighty Buck’?

To be free means to work for one’s own goals and desires. If you must satisfy the goals and desires of someone else before you can attend to your own, are you still free?

True slaves are better off than we are, the master is obliged to care for them and meet their basic needs for survival. The ‘capitalist’ gets to ‘use’ you for as long or as briefly as he likes without taking any responsibility for your well-being. He’s also not obliged to pay you a living wage; that’s your problem too!

Everything revolves around the next word, money.

(mun-ee) 1. coin, portable pieces of stamped metal in use as a medium of exchange. 2. coins and banknotes. (The definition trails off here into various uses so I will just add definitions as given.) 3. Money of account: a unit of money used in reckoning for which there may of may not be an equivalent coin or paper money. 4. Money supply: the amount of currency, plus demand or checking account deposits, in public hands.

In previous essays I have decried the confusion surrounding money. What I have typed above is copied verbatim from my Oxford American dictionary, 1988 edition. I rest my case!

The missing definition here is ‘that which we all need to survive under capitalist rule!’ Just try ‘getting along’ without money in the capitalist world. There is a word for the people who do, they call them 'homeless’ and their lives are a living hell!

Our next word is how most of us make the above, work.

(wurk) n 1. Use of bodily or mental power in order to do or make something, especially as contrasted with play or recreation. 2. Something to be undertaken, the materials for this. 3. A thing done or produced by work. 4. a piece of literary or musical composition. 5. What one does for a living, employment.

It would seem definitions one and five cover things nicely although I am currently engaged in number four! I looked up ‘employment’ but it says essentially the same as above or “work done as an occupation or to earn a livelihood” to be exact.

I must be using an old dictionary as it doesn’t include the most common definition of the word work. ‘what we do while we are waiting for our lottery number to hit.’ It’s a little sad to say that there is more truth than humor in this last definition.

We move on from how things happen to our next word, capitalist or the folks that we do the work for, most interesting!

(kap-i-ta-list) n 1. One who has much capital invested, a rich person. 2. an adherent of capitalism.

It seems interesting to note that even the dictionary calls a spade a spade, rich indeed! This definition seems incomplete without including the term capitalism.

(kap-i-ta-liz-m) n 1. An economic system in which trade and industry are controlled by private owners.
This is what it takes to be rich, you must control trade and industry through ownership.

Many people I know labor under the misconception that if they came up with a marketable idea, they could ‘corner the market’ and become wealthy.

Let’s suppose for the sake of argument that you crack the secret of anti-gravity. (Anything less than a quantum leap of this nature will get you nowhere.) You invent a device that harnesses this incredible power. Think about it, space travel without the millions of tons of high explosive propellant!

It’s one thing to invent something and quite another to bring it to market. In order to get your invention off the drawing board and into production you would require the backing of an already wealthy person. They aren’t going to help you for nothing so there goes the ‘control’ of your invention. You’ll make a ton in ‘royalties’ but not nearly as much as your ‘capitalist’ backer will make from your work.

Can you say ‘screwed?’

Again, for the sake of argument, let’s suppose your invention and the parts to make it cost you two bucks and the items can be had from any hardware store.

You’re rich right! You no longer need a backer and you can produce millions of these devices in your spare time.

How many such devices do you think you would sell before the government landed on you with both feet? The device we are talking about here could change the face of transportation both on and off the planet. National security issues alone would land you in a world of hurt never mind the interests of the fossil fuel folks and those who earn their ‘capital’ from the transportation industry.

Can you say ‘fried’?

The point of this mental exercise is to illustrate that if you aren’t born a ‘capitalist’ then the chances of you ever becoming one by your own efforts are nil.

This isn’t mere ‘negativism’, when we hear of someone rising to the top it's what we don’t hear that interests me.

It’s like the tale of the man who established a thriving metropolis in the desert with nothing but the knapsack on his back. What they don’t say is that the knapsack had ten million dollars in it.

Microsoft may be a perfect example of my point. In order to bring the product to market, the big boys had to get their ‘cut’. Mr. Gates may be worth billions but that’s tiddley winks compared to what his backers made off the deal.

This brings us to the next word in our series, king.

(king) n 1. a man who is the supreme ruler of an independent country by right of succession to the throne. 2. a person or thing regarded to be supreme in some way.

I won’t linger to long here but the interesting thing about this definition is the last portion that states ‘by right of succession’. Kings are thought to be long gone from modern society but are they really? Is it a stretch of the imagination to conclude that anyone with a large pool of wealth lives very much like the kings of old including the truism that states ‘a rich man will never see the inside of a jail cell’? When the wealthy man passes away, does he not designate an heir who succeeds him ‘by right of succession’ which could also be called ‘inheritance’?

Just sharing a thought here.

In contrast to kings our next word is democracy.

(di-mok-ra-see) n 1. government by the whole people of a country, especially through representatives whom they elect. 2. a country governed in this way.

We are taught that we live in a democracy but this is not true, we live in a Republic. True democracy does not work thus we use the ‘representative’ form of government to minimize the many disparaging voices from the process.

It seems to be a mystery as to why our ‘elected representatives’ are totally incompetent in doing anything but screwing the people whose interests they are supposed to be protecting.

This happens regardless of which ‘party’ is in power but many idiots still insist that one party is superior to the other. If they only knew how stupid they sound when they rant about the liberals or the conservatives, they’d shut up quick.

The problem is imbedded within the system itself and not within the ideologies involved. In order to fix the problems we must first fix the system.

Since we don’t live in a democracy (news to some of you I’m sure) let’s look at where we really are, a Republic.

(ri-pub-lik) n 1. A country in which the supreme power is held by the people or their elected representatives, or by an elected or nominated president.

I don’t know what you think but there are an awful lot of 'ors' in that definition. Isn’t it interesting to note that the words ‘supreme power’ have reappeared! (as in King) The definitions of democracy and of a republic share the concept of the people being the ones in charge.

How many of you guessed that our next word would be people?

(pee-pel) n 1. human beings in general. 2. the persons belonging to a place or forming a group, the subjects or citizens of a state. 3. Ordinary persons, those who have no special rank or authority. 4. a persons parents or other relatives.

Definition three is cause for raised eyebrows, ‘No special rank or authority’ Hmmn, that strikes a chord. What I’m driving at here is that there seems to be a ‘double standard’ when defining just who is being referred to in the phrase “We the People.”

In light of current world events, I wish to include a couple of definitions as the media’s propaganda machine is doing it’s best at this time to drive us into a holy war of vengeance.

Our next word is terrorism with a terrorist being defined as one who commits such an act.

(ter-o-riz-em) n. use of violence and intimidation, especially for political purposes.

Someone needs to tell the Muslims that terrorism doesn’t work on Americans and it especially doesn’t work on our politicians! They’re invented terrorism! The American people are under constant attack from the government and their employers, the capitalists.
Don’t think so? How about kids’ killing kids and cops killing law-abiding citizens?

The terrorists have proven that they are not afraid to die. Do we really want to take this to the next level, biological warfare?

For our next word, I present patriotism.

(pay-tri-o-tiz-em) n. loyally supporting one’s country.

While many working citizens of this country are fiercely patriotic, I doubt that we could find even one capitalist who gives the concept anything more than lip service. (They move their businesses out of the country at the first dip in their dividend checks.)

The politicians are appealing to your sense of patriotism so you will go and fight another war for your freedom. Why don’t these same politicians appeal to the capitalist’s sense of patriotism? Do you think it would stop them from moving their business interests out of the country?

Why don’t they look at themselves while the sell the worker/warriors of this nation down the river by creating ‘free trade’ pacts with anyone who wants to dump their cheap goods here at the expense of our jobs?

Our next word is politics with a politician being defined as one who engages in this activity.

(pol-i-tiks) n. 1. the science and art of governing a country. 2. political affairs or life. 3. maneuvering for power within a group.

While political science is a degreed college course, it is not apparent what one who possesses such a degree is learned in. Do they receive their Master’s in Deception and Misdirection?

Because it is but a page away, the next word on the list is poor.

(poor) adj. 1. having little money or means, poor people, the poor. 2. deficient in something. 3. scanty, inadequate, less good than usual or expected.

There has always been a rift between wealth and poverty. Those at the low end of the spectrum are called poor. While we have had poor people for centuries, the most recent evolution in this sad state of being is called the ‘working poor’, those who have jobs that don’t pay a living wage. The cost of living continues to escalate rapidly and the ranks of the working poor grow greater every hour.

Our next word is business.

(biz-nis) n. 1. a task or a duty, a thing one is concerned with. 2. one’s usual occupation, a profession, a trade. 3. a thing needing to be dealt with, the agenda. 4. a difficult matter. 5. an affair, subject or device. 6. buying and selling, trade. 7. a commercial firm, a store, a factory etc.

A little word with a lot of meanings. For the purposes of this text, we will only concern ourselves with the last two.

Current Operational Overview

In order to understand where we are going, you need to understand where we are. I will try to keep this as simple as I can. It should not be too difficult because in the end, it really is quite simple.

People, there are many types of people but for this exercise we will only concern ourselves with two. People who ‘own’ businesses and the rest of us, which could be translated as those who ‘work’ for the owners. (Again, for the sake of this exercise, we will ignore the millions who are or do neither. We will deal with them later.)

The first truth to be considered is the fact that under the capitalist system, it is impossible for everyone to own businesses. Imagine the scenario if we all did (including those who do neither now) Who would work for you and perhaps more importantly, who would buy from you?

I can’t see this situation ever coming to pass but this is what ‘capitalist utopia’ would supposedly look like.

Everyone runs his or her own game and everyone competes for a piece of the action. (The bottom line here appears to be that everyone save a few starves.)

No one ever said that capitalism was supposed to be a ‘utopian’ system so I don’t think that anyone will be too disappointed here.

So we are resigned to the fact that capitalism, the system that governs this nation and most of the rest of the world be it free or otherwise, is populated by ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.

Business is defined as the practice of obtaining inputs, adding value, then selling the end result for a profit. Need satisfaction is the driving force behind every business for once the product is no longer ‘needed’ it becomes very tough to sell it.

The true needs to sustain human life are few but each area has spawned huge corporations that dominate their respective markets.
Money needs to circulate in order for the capitalist system to grow so the practice of buying in bulk and repackaging has become common place.

The problem with this practice is that it adds a level or middleman who needs to profit from the process so the savings to the end consumer are minimal.

‘Multi-level marketing’ is dumb in the respect that no one can beat ‘buying direct’ from the producer who gets their inputs for free by virtue of their ownership of those inputs. While adding ‘levels’ helps to make money circulate, it also adds cost.

Have you ever contacted the manufacturer of a product only to find that they refuse to sell to you, they only sell through ‘dealers’.

Some manufacturer’s are happy to deal directly with the public but what they don’t tell you is that they sell at the suggested dealer mark-up which means that you could save money if you haggled with a dealer. The manufacturer will get your business either way so they don’t need to sell ‘price’. This is especially true of ‘proprietary’ or one-of-a-kind products.

How does one go from being a have-not to being a have? Why they start their own business of course! People do it all the time, but if you don’t have something truly unique to offer just be prepared to take your place at the end of the long line of those petitioning the courts for bankruptcy protection.

The deck is stacked against you if your ‘mousetrap’ doesn’t meet a true ‘need’. Should you devise a better product that can be produced more cost effectively than that which is currently available, one of two things happens.

One, your current competitor ‘buys you out’. This is just good business and it makes sense from the ‘protecting your market’ point of view.

Refuse to sell and they will steal your idea and crush you with their ability to bring the product to market faster along with their ‘brand name’ recognition.

Go ahead and sue them. You may win but it’s too late. Your innovation is now theirs and all that they have to do is pay you ‘royalties’ on the idea. Money that they will make back by raising the price.

There is but one way to hang out your shingle as a bona fide capitalist and that is to establish a company that provides a service to one or more of the industry giants.

This is no different than becoming one of their employees. You can only earn the difference between what the lowest bidder offers to do the job for and what it costs you to actually do the work.

Under the capitalist system, profit is the key word. If you can’t make money doing it then you can’t do it period.

This brings us to the next level. There are many things that need to be done that can’t be done profitably. Government is one and education for the masses is another. Policing or the military are not for profit ventures also. Where does this money come? Taxes of course!

Under the capitalist system, these ‘services’ are paid for with tax dollars. I know I’m not telling you anything new but bear with me.If I fail to demonstrate my understanding of how the process currently works then how can you seriously accept my proposals to change the system?

If YOU don’t understand just who and what you are along with where you stand in respect to the big picture, how can you make rational decisions?

Let’s look at the capitalist for a moment. The capitalist is interested in one thing and one thing only, profits. If the capitalist can achieve a better return on investment elsewhere, he liquidates is ‘capital’ and goes there to take advantage of the greater return.

The can be no consideration of the human impact involved in doing this because it is his duty or ‘business’ if you will, to make a profit.

Competition drives the capitalist to do what ever it takes to be the first with the most because if they don’t, they will soon find themselves joining the working stiffs of the world, their fortune gone.

The ‘goldrush’ to move labor intensive operations to third world economies for the past twenty years has left the United States with no employment opportunities for their tradesman class. The tradesmen and the management teams that supported them make up what used to be called the ‘middle class’ in this country.

Where does this leave you? You either need to obtain a degree in some high end service career from a good school which will set you back plenty or you can seek two or three low end service industry jobs and eek out what life you can from them.

Please understand that the writing has been on the wall for quite some time now. Most of the upper end service industry professions (read: doctors, lawyers, scientists etc.) are saturated and the only way to break in is with the ‘pedigree’ that a top name school provides.

Construction trades and transportation which used to be good jobs have been watered down by the displaced craftsmen that were once employed in manufacturing. Comparing then to now, both of these professions pay crap for ‘unlicensed’ help.

The residential building market relies on good times for their profits. While there is always the need for homes, you can’t risk your capital building them if people can’t afford to buy them because they are getting paid low wages.

The commercial building market relies on a strong economy also. If people aren’t buying your product or service then there is no need to expand your output capacity.

Everything needs to move. Someone has to deliver the junk that comes over the borders from foreign manufacturers and deliver it to the stores.

Here is another job that pays nothing because those who can’t afford or cut it in college can perform the simple task of driving a truck from here to there.

What will rapidly become a problem is who will buy all of this junk? Price escalation and credit card debt has everyone who earns under eighty thousand dollars a year watching what they spend their money on very carefully.

According to Nesmith’s book ‘Megatrends’ the United States will survive as a provider of intellectual properties. Where does this leave you in respect to the future? If you aren’t a member of the ‘brain trust’ then you will just have to do the best you can with whatever’s left.

Now let’s face the facts. You, as an individual need to make a certain amount of money to cover your living expenses and pay your debts. Failing to do this even for a short time will financially ruin you.

You as a worker must sell your time to (hopefully) the highest bidder. If no one wants the skills that you have to offer, you are doomed. You must take whatever work is available or resign yourself to accepting government assistance until you can be retrained in a new, usable skill.

Surprise, surprise, you may not qualify for retraining! At least at the governments expense so you will be required to part with your own money to obtain a new skill.

The problem with this is that the landscape is constantly shifting and you may end up picking a skill that is leaving the economy for the third world because the workers doing it here make ‘too much money’.

Life’s a gamble and you play the cards that you are dealt. Let’s take a look at those in the beginning of this section that are neither capitalists nor workers.

For some unknown reason hundreds of thousands of immigrants enter the country every year. Millions of workers who were already here have been lack of worked to the street. They both go on welfare until they receive that free government job training that we were talking about.

The number of those who survive off of the public’s tax dollars continues to grow at an alarming rate. We pay them to keep them off the street where they would rob passersby for what they need to live. (Sometimes they do this anyway but no system is perfect.)

Given that money comes from a printing press, we will never run out. The problem with giving money away is that it creates the situation of the money that you work for is worth less because it’s being ‘diluted’ by the handouts.

You need to earn ever-increasing amounts of money just to keep your head above water. The whole cycle causes prices to go up, which causes the welfare people to raise the amount that they give away, which dilutes your money and causes the prices to go up which means you need to earn more money…and in the end it will take a wheelbarrow full of cash to buy a loaf of bread.

This day is in the not too distant future. When this happened in Germany after the First World War, Hitler took over shortly afterwards. Is this where we are heading?

I included the word ‘slave’ under definitions for good reason. You are in fact a slave, not the property of another but a slave to money. Who controls the money, the government, who controls the government? Wealthy capitalists!

If you disagree with this line of logic, then why didn’t ‘our’ government act to protect our jobs and block the passage of NAFTA and other ‘free trade’ agreements that only benefited the wealthy?

Cut through the rationalizations and what’s left is the truth. We were sold out, it’s that simple.

We were sold out because we never got the opportunity to vote on the issue, our elected representatives did that for us.

This has become a disturbing trend. Every election there are referendum questions placed on the ballot. This is our government in action, let the people decide.

Do you think we should have been given the opportunity to protect our jobs? How about deregulation? Have they deregulated anything that didn’t eliminate thousands of jobs (cost) and cause the price to the end user to skyrocket? (profits)

How about the interstate banking laws that were designed to protect the consumer? How long will it be before there is only one bank and how much will they charge us for the ‘privilege’ of doing business with them? [Note, this was written back in 1998!]

Have you ever seen any of these questions on the ballot? Remember property tax reform? It swept the nation and soon every state had it’s own version of California proposition 209. Now every year we as voters are forced to override our own initiative because of federally mandated policies that we again have no hand or say in.

This is the ‘democracy’ they are now asking you to fight and die for. This is 'in your face, nuts to you' democracy!

I don’t know how it is in every state but here we are asked to decide such heady ballot issues as speed limits and leash laws. Once, we were even asked if we wanted a seat belt law. The voters turned it down by a margin of two to one, FOUR TIMES. Six months later we had a seatbelt law.

What happened to our ‘free’ country? Where is our democracy? What happened to our freedom? It seems to have ‘disappeared’ with the reassertion of Royalty, American Royalty. I used the term ‘slave’ earlier but serf or peasant fits just as well.

When you look at it in perspective, the American Revolution was hijacked at the first constitutional convention. The only ones invited to attend were wealthy merchants from each State and they promptly set out to entrench themselves and protect their personal interests.

They set up the crooked judicial system and named themselves or their friends as judges. This locked the rest of us out of the system permanently.

Spill all the personal liberties you want upon the peasants, those who control the courts, control the land!

Have you ever wondered why judges are appointed for life and it literally takes an act of congress to remove one from the bench?

Just like the electoral process, the legal system in this country is a sham. They have provided us with an illusion of democracy and an illusion of justice.

Do you suppose it’s an ‘accident’ that the laws read like they do? The terms used are so vague and contradictory that the outcome of any given case ultimately rests with the judge.

There is no way to prove him wrong so you must live with his personal interpretation of the law on that day.

When your actions come under the scrutiny of the law, your ‘liberty’ is hanging by a thread and your life is in the hands of someone who has nothing in common with you.

If we place a ‘wealthy’ person in front of the same judge and level the same charge against them, suddenly it's case dismissed! You are marked for life but their record is expunged, just like nothing ever happened. Now that’s justice for you! Kind of makes your blood run cold, doesn’t it?

The Conundrum

The only way to be truly free is also the only way to achieve world peace. You need to have the planet to yourself.

Man is a ‘social’ creature and people left alone too long become unhinged. Do people drive you crazy? Well it’s a proven fact that the lack of people will do the same thing.

Life is neither good nor bad, it just is. We as individuals take responsibility for our own personal success or failure. While we tend to believe that we are the masters of our own destiny, it’s much closer to the truth to say that our general or overall fortune is more closely linked to the fortune of the ‘tribe’.

If everybody is doing well, we too do relatively well. When the excrement hits the rotating blades, we all suffer. (Well, not everybody but you know what I mean.)

Subjective terms like freedom, liberty and happiness all mean different things to different people. Rational people know that they must ‘surrender’ some personal freedom in order to live in and enjoy the benefits a civil society.

Giving up a small measure of freedom in exchange for the ability to pursue your own interests in peace is a reasonable exchange.

What bothers most of us is inequity or unfairness. The capitalist system has done an excellent job of masking the hidden caste system it fosters by making the individual believe that if they are not wealthy then they have done something wrong along the ‘road to success’.

I cannot stress this enough. The only way to be truly wealthy is to be born to it. Struggle all you want, if you were born to nothing, you will only rise so far. If your parents had enough dough to put you through an Ivy league school then you’ll do okay regardless if you are a brainless twit or not.

Those of us who have a better chance of seeing god than ever getting the opportunity to walk down the hallowed halls of academia can just go suck a rock.

Even pop and sports stars are really just ‘flashes in the pan’. They have their moment in the spotlight and soon it’s someone else’s turn. If you have a lot of talent, you can have many turns but they are all just temporary.

The point here is that real wealth comes from resources and markets. This is why the same people always end up with all of the money. They own or control by virtue of their ownership the resources and markets that we all need to survive.

If you own your own ‘small’ business, you still work for the truly wealthy because you must purchase your inputs from them and then you must sell your product through their markets.

We as a nation are in the most wretched of positions because we as individuals can not survive if we don’t play their game.

We wouldn’t mind it if the capitalist suffered when we suffer but usually the capitalist is the author of our suffering and they prosper from the suffering that they cause while we desperately try to keep from being eaten alive by our creditors.

The average person cannot survive without credit these days with the price of transportation being equal to the price of homes only twenty years ago and the price of homes today is beyond the reach of even the more successful of us. {This was written pre 2007!]

Just to make my point, I could sell my home for triple what I paid for it and I have been living here for less than eight years! I’m sure as heck not earning three times what I made eight years ago! This will become a major problem in the not too distant future.

Just understand the capitalist’s game. He needs to get the most profit for the least cost. He works his ‘employees’ as hard as he can to make the most of the wages that he pays. The worker makes the same money if he kills himself all day or does next to nothing.

Many workplaces have become quite draconian in the measuring of production output and ‘letting go’ those who cannot maintain their ever increasing production ‘standards’.

The only thing that the worker who busts his hump all day wins is his job. The relentless pursuit of profits will soon put all but the strongest of us out of work as the standards become impossible to meet and the capitalist is ‘forced’ to find a cheaper labor pool to keep their costs in line.

There it is in a nutshell, the relentless pursuit of profits in the face of rising costs. We are all riding the crazy train to make some lunatic with money on the brain rich!

Want to see a real lunatic? The capitalist wannabe who thinks he’s running his own show that suddenly finds his costs are rising out of control and the market doesn’t justify another price increase so he has nowhere to go.

Guess who he takes his frustration out on? His employees.

The Road Ahead

I invite you once again to look at the big picture. It’s a great big capitalist fest out there with every civilized nation on the planet practicing capitalism. All should be right with the world, shouldn’t it?

When I say civilized I am not just referring to democracies, I mean dictatorships and even professed communist nations are joining the relentless pursuit of profits for personal enrichment.

A rational person knows that there is nothing ‘altruistic’ about capitalism, in fact quite the opposite is true as capitalism is an extreme cutthroat game.

The objective of capitalism is to crush your competition, if that is not possible then you merge with them and the fellow with the stronger hand comes out holding all of the cards.

We, the workers, have been watching the game of mega-mergers play itself out over the past dozen years. With only a few more to go we will be right back where we started eighty years ago with huge monopolies holding us all by the short hairs.

Technically, we are already there with the consolidation of our nation’s farms under the control of the huge cooperatives. There’s no place to run, no place to hide.

We play the game to the best of our ability or we get to try a new game. The new game is called homelessness. This is also punishment for not playing the old game well. Once you are homeless the slate is wiped clean and you get to start playing the old game all over again from scratch.

Now the only difference between a good economy and a bad one is the speed with which money circulates. We who live ‘hand to mouth’ rely on it circulating rapidly. Those who have plenty of money could care less. If the right investment opportunities don’t exist at the moment, they just hold on to their money until they do.

Does this seem as dumb as it sounds? It’s really that simple.

The wealthy have vast pools of assets by virtue of owning what we all need to live. They can afford to sit and wait until an investment opportunity that they like comes along.

If these ****** don’t spend or ‘risk’ their capital then the economy hits the skids then we all take a financial bath, (well not all of us but you know what I mean.)

I’m an idiot and I figured this out, why don’t we change the system so that this doesn’t happen?

The answer is obvious. The only way to prevent this phenomenon is to deny the wealthy control of that which we all need to live and that would, er, 'upset them' a little, wouldn’t it?

We have all been taught how public control of resources (communism/socialism) leads to corruption and only the power elite benefits while the worker suffers. Please explain how this differs from our current situation.

We were also taught that this same power elite used the army to exterminate anyone who complained about this situation. Please tell me how this differs from our current circumstances. (They don’t use the army here, they crucify you in the media instead. I’ll be living proof!)

Have’s and Have nots. It's easy for most of us to figure out where we stand in regards to this reality. You are either one or the other.

Only those with the right pedigree and who travel within all the right circles have a shot of achieving ‘have’ status. The rest of us are told to stop gawking and get back to work.

Back to the big picture. The world’s population is increasing exponentially which increases the numbers of workers for the workforce to absorb and more hungry consumers competing for food and shelter.

Have you taken a look at the help wanted ads lately? There are only two kinds of jobs out there, 'grunt' (which pays spit) and 'magician' (which make you wonder if anyone on the planet matches the advertised qualifications.)

Does someone have to hit you between the eyes with a sledgehammer to make you see the writing on the wall?

If money isn’t circulating fast enough to keep the current workforce in the necessities of life, then what of your children when they reach the age where they must fend for themselves?

There are two solutions to this problem. One is to exterminate a huge segment of the world’s current population through either war or plague.

Two and hopefully much more preferably, we can alter how the world runs thereby creating jobs and ample necessities as well as luxuries for all. My proposed new system even eliminates recessions like we are now experiencing as it doesn’t operate off of monetary wealth.

There will be no wealthy nor any way for an individual to become wealthy. This will **** ***, um, 'enrage' the currently wealthy but we are looking at an extinction level event in the not too distant future if we don't take radical action soon.

The rest of this book will explain in detail how this new system works and the rules of conduct necessary to insure equitable treatment to all.

We, as a nation, cannot get our elected officials to put term limits upon themselves. There is no way the concepts presented here stand a chance of being acted upon favorably by the current powers that be without their poisoning the basic essence of the whole system, equality. (Pillars essay 1)

A pointless revolt results in bloodshed and anarchy. The only thing that has prevented a revolt until now is the lack of a solid concept to revolt for. A concept that every rational person can endorse.

I refuse to concern myself with those who insist that the world is still flat if you wonder why I am always using the qualifier of ‘rational’, these people don’t know and don’t want to know anything different than what their feeble minds can comprehend.

This is written as a rallying point for all of you who realize that the clock is ticking and if we don’t act soon it will be too late.
Brace for impact because we’re going in to uncharted territory!

Founding Principles

Nature provides resources and through work, they are transformed into useful items.

These resources are free for the taking and needed by all. It is a crime against humanity/society to allow the private ownership of resources for resources are the only true form of wealth.

Division Society is founded on the belief that all of its citizens are entitled to pursue their life without being fettered or exploited by private enterprise or government.

The social contract maintained by the Divisions is one for the mutual benefit for all. Division citizens trade their time and efforts in exchange for all the rights and benefits of Division society.

As individuals, we each require that our needs be met in order to survive and prosper. The Divisions are neither a government nor a private enterprise; they fulfill the role of management, which all endeavors require. The only profit realized by the Divisions is the survival and prosperity of its citizens.

Division Society is exclusive. It only bestows its benefits upon those who willingly give of their time and efforts to the benefit of all. None will be denied the opportunity to participate and reap the benefits of Division Society but the Divisions will never force anyone to do so against their own free will.

The Divisions and Division Society care for the young, the aged and the infirm but do not tolerate non-participants. Individuals who choose not to participate will be banished from Division Territories. Take this as due notice.

Division society bestows its rewards on the basis of merit, strive to achieve and reap the rewards of your efforts. Like the Divisions of old, a ladder of skills will be established and all must prove their competency to progress from level to level. Patronage, nepotism and self-interest are the enemies of a just society. Every citizen is entitled to climb this ladder as high as their skill and ambition will take them. None are barred or blocked from rising to their maximum potential nor are any required to rise higher than they choose. Warning: attempting to circumvent this system has severe consequences.

The Divisions are a society of law, not of men. In recognition of the fact that the courts of men often pervert the law, the Divisions shall not establish any court system nor allow for the professional interpretation of the law. The laws of the Divisions are simple and few. Division law applies equally to all citizens. By necessity, justice under the Divisions is harsh, as there will be no prisons.

All things are produced by work. The Divisions believe that work not only provides society with the things that it needs and wants but it also provides the individual with an outlet for their talents, validates their membership in society and provides them the ability to contribute to the greater good of society as a whole. No citizen shall be denied their right to work.

Money is the root of all evil. The Divisions believe that every woe of society has its roots in the laws that govern the use of money. Recognizing this, the Divisions abolish all forms of hard currency. Citizens are paid for their efforts electronically and they can only buy what they need or desire from the Divisions. Each such transaction erases the appropriate funds from the citizen’s account and they simply vanish, no one gets them.

The greatest evil in any society is debt. The Divisions do not recognize any debt beyond the citizen’s commitment to exchange their time and efforts for the right and benefits of Division Society. No citizen may lawfully put another in their debt and there shall be no mechanism created for the collection of debt or for the transfer of funds between individuals.

Under Division Society, the only way to receive money is to trade your time and efforts to the Divisions. Once paid, your money is for you. Every citizen of the Divisions makes their own way from the cradle to the grave. Upon the death of a citizen, their account is erased, no one gets it.

The Divisions will manage and control all resources for the benefit of society and this planet, our only home. The Divisions will provide every citizen with shelter, heat, electricity, healthcare and access to education, access to transportation, access to communications for life at no charge.

With an eye to the future and in recognition of the fact that time is the individual’s most precious commodity in this life, the Divisions will return to manufacturing goods for maximum utility and durability. The objective here is simple, once the needs of society are successfully met, the work requirement can be diminished and the time saved returned to the citizen.

It is the primary goal of Division Society to eliminate poverty and ignorance. Upon achieving this goal, it is the Divisions mission to reach for the stars and to populate the cosmos, not as missionaries but as responsible beings that will treat any we may meet with due consideration and respect.

Core Concepts

Our current socio-economic system is flawed throughout. Changes are necessary in every area. Let us use the one useful purpose of money as a starting point.

Money serves the one useful purpose of regulating ‘scarce’ commodities. We need a definition of ‘scarce’. For our purposes, ‘scarce’ is defined as perishable commodities and ‘prime’ vacation/resort facility access.

What of everything that isn’t defined as ‘scarce’? Items not defined as ‘scarce’ will be free.

Are the alarm bells clanging inside your head? What the hell does he mean by free! This will all make sense, I promise you! It will make a lot more sense than what we are currently expected to swallow!

While some of us live to eat, we all need to eat to live. This is a given and forms the primary basis of the work ethic. If you work, you eat!

Some would say this concept is the basis of our enslavement but we cannot alter the fact that nothing happens if you don’t work. The ‘crystal logic’ here is that if someone doesn’t ‘work’ the farm, there won’t be any food to eat period.

So you still work, trading your time for money then trading your money for food. This is nothing different that what we do now. If everything other than food and ‘playtime’ is free, there needs to be some radical departures from business as usual.

Let’s look at the really big picture.

You have a skill. What you were trained to do needs to be done otherwise learning to do it was pointless. Life creates very few one trick ponies. This is true of every worker.

Do you care who pays you? Some of us are rather fussy about who we work for or work with but in the long haul we pretty much go where the money is.

Some of us are not ‘money motivated’ but this quirk requires an enormous amount of self-discipline and willing privation.

Life as we know it can be broken down into a dozen general ‘fields of endeavor’ if you will. I shall number them here:

I offer these in no particular order as they are all equally important. Imagine if you will that our brave new world has no 'for profit' businesses. Instead we will all work for one of the twelve Divisions. We could make a zillion Divisions but this would create a bureaucratic nightmare! (Something else we’re trying to get away from!)

It isn’t ‘necessary’ to make individual Divisions for each specialization as every Division will need to have trained personnel from just about every skill imaginable on their payroll.

This solves the question of who will pay us but it does not address the how. More precisely, how will they pay us if they don’t operate for profit?

The ‘value’ of money will be directly related to the ‘availability’ of perishable resources or the old ‘supply and demand’ routine…less ‘profit’ to the producer!

The Divisions pay you to do what you do without regard to profit, which is a bit misleading because the ‘profit’ reaped by the Divisions is the end result or benefit to society as a whole rather than dollars and cents in a bank account.

You work to eat and no one willing to work will be denied the opportunity to do so. There is no lack of things that need doing and ‘full employment’ will finally be a reality.

Where was I? Oh yes, I was just explaining that as a working citizen of Division society, you are entitled to quality, modern accommodations free of charge. These first class lodgings will include electricity, phone, heat, cable and Internet access all for nothing.

How can we do that? You may ask.

Power plants or telecommunications facilities don’t just pop up out of the ground and they won’t disappear once they are taken from their ‘owners’. People build and run these facilities and their Division pays them to do it so why should you have to pay them too?

I know that you’re looking for the ‘catch’ and you are right. Life under the Divisions won’t be all peace, love and understanding.

Some people are basically greedy opportunists or self-centered socio-paths and the Divisions will deal with wrong doers harshly.

In our ‘new’ society you will still be expected to show up for work on time as many endeavors require ‘concerted’ efforts rather than ‘solo’ performances.

Time management will be as flexible as possible and in some cases it won’t matter when you put your time in. We can’t expect you to be on time if we don’t provide you with a way to get there.

In rural areas a personal vehicle is essential. The closer you get to urban areas, this requirement lessens.

Basic personal transportation will be provided for free on an as need basis. Once you climb up the ladder a little ways you can opt to ‘buy’ transportation if you want it for the sake of having it.

Hobbyists will still be allowed to ‘restore’ and keep cars for their personal amusement but fuel for ‘joy-riding’ will cost you money.

Motor pools will be established for those who only want to ‘use’ a vehicle to get away for whatever reason but again, ‘rent’ will be charged and you will also be charged for the fuel that you use.

Just because we are converting to a truly ‘free’ society doesn’t mean that we don’t need to conserve resources or discourage wasteful practices.

Make sure you get your hands on that choice vehicle that you want for your project car quickly as the Divisions will focus strongly on recycling, making use of the ‘scrap’ that wasn’t ‘profitable’ to use under the capitalist system.

It is said that we are a very wasteful society but the main reason for this can be directly attributed to ‘profitability’ or lack thereof in this case.

I was rather surprised to learn that someone out there devised a scheme called ‘Division Socialism’ in France around the turn of the last century (late 1800’s). Whoever this idiot was seemed unable to shake the ‘profit motive’ out of their head and the description of how the system is supposed to work makes less sense than capitalism does.

There would be Divisions for every imaginable discipline and every region would have it’s own ‘competing’ sets of Divisions.
In my example there are only the twelve Divisions with regional offices wherever they need to be. They don’t compete with each other, why would they? The Divisions simply provide the ‘management’ that all endeavors require and that’s it.

Now the Communists (or the Socialists for that matter) can’t seem to get over the need to organize committees or hold elections. Once again the Divisions will have no part in either of these common ‘illusions’ of freedom.

Try to get a dozen people to agree on which restaurant to order out from and you’ll know what I mean. Democracy results in deadlocks or worse, wars!

‘Representative’ forms of government have proven time and again that they fail to represent anyone with any consistency. He who has the most clout wins and the will of the people be damned! In my sincere opinion, just don’t go there!

Capitalism STINKS but that’s not to say that some very sound ideas and practices weren’t born out of the needs of business.

Quality and consistency are two very essential traits for finished goods. In order to insure this, there has been a drive by business to ‘certify’ personnel of all sorts.

From mechanics to purchasing agents, each discipline requires that key points be mastered to insure that the job is done right. You must pass a test to become ‘certified’ and the Divisions will be no different.

Under Division society, you will literally build a career by collecting certifications as you advance within your chosen specialty. The more certifications you get, the more you will be paid. How’s that for an incentive system?

Like the Divisions of old, there will be a ladder of skills that need to be ‘mastered’ before moving on to the next level. If you are new to the given field of endeavor, you will be an ‘apprentice’. Once you have mastered the basic skills you will become a ‘journey person’. Upon mastering all aspects of your specialty, you will become a ‘master’. This is the end of the trail for the working grunt but only the beginning if your goal is to join management.

This is a radical departure from capitalism in the respect that you must hold a master’s rating within the specialty in order to ‘supervise’ those below you.

The capitalist practice of placing anyone with a college degree in any discipline as a manager over the skilled craft is the central reason why quality and worker dissatisfaction issues abound in today’s workplace.

While ‘the principles of management’ are said to be ‘universal’, each discipline has it’s own unique set of problems that only insiders are familiar with.

Again, a new set of skills need to be mastered to compete for the position of department manager. The wild card here is that once you enter the management arena, you need to defend your current position against all others qualified to hold the job and interested in advancing their careers on an annual basis.

You can remain a ‘master’ forever if you’d rather eat raw road kill than ‘cross the line’ into management.

In the realm of management, the test becomes two-fold. Not only will job knowledge bear into the equation but your people skills/reputation also become a factor. In the event of a ‘tie’, those who will work under the successful candidate get to ‘vote’ for whom they wish to work for.

A little advice here, don’t ‘abuse’ the hired help as 'ties' will be commonplace!

The purpose of annual competitions for management positions is to prevent stagnation. If all you ever desire to be is the supervisor, then all you need to do is beat the competition every year. This is easier said than done but if you don’t make it one year, you can always compete again next time.

The management ladder will be sequential and no one is allowed to skip rungs. You must climb to the top of your local and regional Divisions before competing for national Division management. If the concept catches on elsewhere then a global layer of management will be added.

New skills are rewarded and each level brings new ‘perks’ and more pay. Let’s suppose for a moment that you make the big time and win the competition to become the head of all of the Divisions. This is the equivalent of being elected President. There are no ‘term limits’ as long as you continue to defeat all comers in the annual competitions.

The beauty of this system is that anyone who desires to can climb this ladder. No one is excluded or denied the opportunity to climb as high as their skill and ambition will carry them.

Why no ‘free’ elections? It puzzled me greatly why anyone would spend seventeen million dollars for a job that paid only four hundred thousand a year.

Something is definitely rotten in Denmark! Holding the highest office in the land has benefits other than the salary and I acknowledge that much of the exorbitant cost of running for that office is not ‘out of pocket’ expense but this is another whole can of worms!

(You work for those who ‘put you in office’ and I don’t mean the electorate. Free elections are window dressing for the masses. Your job as ‘chief executive’ could be better described as ‘head whipping boy’ since you take the heat for policies that you have no hand in creating. Policies that are then shoved up the people's collective butt.)

Couple this with the convoluted process of how candidates are chosen and what qualifications they have, if any.

A vast majority of those who hold elected office at the national level in this country are wealthy business owners. What do these people have in common with the worker who makes up the majority of the electorate?

We all know that the boss thinks you are an idiot! If not, why does he insist on treating you like one?

Under Division society we are assured that regardless of who holds the top spot, they came from the same roots as everyone else. The Divisions are a society where you (and everyone else) are a worker first, last and always.

Division Society has been called a ‘meritocracy’ and rightly so. I didn’t coin the term myself but it fits. It seems the person who gave me this term had issues with it but I suppose there are those out there who will object when you begin messing with their dreams of becoming a wealthy tycoon.

If all you can think about is yourself and what you want, you’re not going to do too well under Division society. Working for the Divisions is about everybody rowing the same boat together for the common good. We will all suffer or prosper together.

Individuality is cherished in the fact that the work requirement will be reduced as new technologies take over. Time is all that we really have in this life and once we can meet the needs of society as a whole, giving you back as much time as possible to call your own will be the main objective of the Divisions. Time to be you and to do the things that you want to do!

Under capitalism, advances in productivity mean working fewer people harder for greater profits. There is no relief in sight for the worker until he is replaced completely by a machine and then he is turned loose to starve to death for all his former employer cares.

It’s not his problem you see, he’s in business to make money! The heck with everybody else including you!

There you have it. That’s the ‘basics’ of the system that I have invented as an ‘alternative’ to capitalism and the future exploitation of our children.

The word ‘revolt’ literally means change. There can be no change if a well-laid out alternative is not presented.

Division society is lean, mean and straightforward. There are no ‘popularity contests’ where people of dubious credentials take the helm. There are no cumbersome committees that need to debate every issue to death in order to hammer out a compromise that makes no one happy.

We do what we do because it needs doing. How much simpler does it get? Division society has only one interest, the greater good of all. There are no profits beyond bettering the lot of everyone who lives under Division rule.

For once there will truly be a way for everyone to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit personal happiness in so much that it doesn’t interfere with the enjoyment of the same by others.

Establishment of the Divisions and Division hierarchy.

Failure to be specific invites disaster!

What follows are detailed instructions of how the Divisions are to be set up along with some ground rules regarding their operations.

Upon surrender of the US government after our passive and totally non-violent revolt (We will bring them to their knees without harming anyone or destroying any property simply by turning their own ‘weapon’ against them.) [Need to rethink this one because they have proven all money really is FUNNY, they can remain 'irrational' a lot longer than the rest of us can remain solvent!]

There is no need to re-invent the wheel. Each town has a town hall, each city a city hall etc. These former government offices will be made into the offices of your local Division Services.

Each State has a State house and that will become the State office of Division Services. Division Services fills the role of public interface between the Divisions and the individual.

Operations of this unit will be similar to local civic offices of today but there will be key differences. You won’t be able to find any ‘elected’ officials there but you will find the supervisor who is in charge of the office’s operation. In larger cities you will find assistant supervisors to help you also.

There will still be a clerk’s office responsible for maintaining public records but the assessor’s office will be closed as there are no taxes under Division rule.

The former assessor’s office will become the new housing resources management office. This is where you will go to find suitable quarters should you require them or if you wish to exercise your option to upgrade your living quarters due to promotion.

While you will still be able to find the building inspector’s office here, this will also be where you go to request services from the Construction Division.

Since tradesmen are paid by their Division, carpenters, plumbers, electricians and the like will draw their work from this office rather than contract directly with the customer.

The local public health office and the division of weights and measures will still function like they always have but Division services rather than the town itself will employ them.

Local public works departments along with custodians, water and cemetery employees will become sub units of the Construction Division. Division services will employ the people who fulfill the critical functions of trash pick-up, recycling and public safety. (This could be considered a ‘no brainer’ but if I don’t say so…)

New entries into the workforce will go to their local Division services office to review employment opportunities and search the national database for open jobs they are interested in. People desiring a career change can do likewise.

If you are transferring into a new position within your current Division, this is where you will go to be signed up with your new work unit.

At the inception of the Divisions, the people who held the position before the ‘changeover’ will undoubtedly be the best qualified to continue in these positions. Since there are no longer any ‘elected’ officials the ‘supervisors’ hat will be temporarily filled by whoever led the city or town at the time of the changeover. (If they stick around.)

The State operations will mirror the towns and include an office for interfacing with regional Division Services. There should be no reason for the individual to visit the State office of Division Services as its functions are more administrative than customer service oriented.

Once each State has it’s house in order they are to send ‘representative’ delegates to a mutually agreed upon location to set up a Regional Division operations center.

This will be where all of the Divisions will coordinate their efforts on a regional basis. Each State will funnel the city and town’s requirements for goods and services to the Regional office. Here representatives of each Division will work together to satisfy the needs within their region by drawing upon resources from across the nation.

These regional Division offices will be responsible for directing the specific Divisions to gather and produce the needed inputs to insure that local Division services can meet the citizen’s needs.

There are six regions within the nation and they are as follows: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Central
Mid-West and Western. (For any other nation that thinks Division society is for them, some nice person in your country has already broken your nation into regions. Use the above as an example.)

Every code above the 500 series has either soon to be ‘obsolete’ codes or they cover such niches so thoroughly that they will take too much time to sort them out here. Let the above be a general guide to which Division will handle which specialties. Consolidate wherever possible and don’t be afraid to ‘eliminate’ the seemingly superfluous

Division Hierarchy

The above helps to define the scope of the Divisions but this does not address the important issue of the totem pole and who sits where.

I’ll start from the bottom and we’ll work our way up.

1. Apprentice: Entry level with only the barest skills. All new entries into the workforce start here. (No exceptions)

2. Journey person: Has mastered the basic skills of the trade and is working to learn the finer points.

3. Master: Knows the trade inside and out, can teach others to do every job in their specific area of expertise.

4. Foreperson: A master in charge of issuing tasks to a work group of skilled trades people who also troubleshoots jobs as required.
(Workgroup being defined as two or more crafts persons engaged in a specific process that is a portion of the whole or all of the crafts people involved in any single step of an endeavor including those that produce finished product from raw inputs in one step.)

5. Operations Support Specialist ‘C’: Those who pass the foreperson’s test but lose the ‘election’ are candidates for this support position. This spot provides an excellent ‘training’ for the next level. You will earn more than your master’s pay but less than a foreperson.

6. Manager: A foreperson in charge of directing all of the forepersons within a working unit. Depending upon the scale of the operation this slot is a wildcard. In larger operations, a manager will report to a Unit manager. In small-scale operations the manager’s slot is skipped and a Unit manager is promoted from amongst the forepersons.

7. Operations Support Specialist ‘B’: Those who pass the manager’s test but lose the ‘election’ are candidates for this position, like ‘C’, you will earn more than a foreperson but less a manager.

8. Unit Manager: A manager who directs the activities of the managers in larger scale operations or one who directs the efforts of the forepersons in a small scale operation.

9. Operations Support Specialist ‘A’: Those who pass the Unit Manager’s test but lose the election are eligible for these positions. At this point you will be involved in plant operations to a point where you will learn all of the functions up to Division manager. Like the two previous Support Specialist positions, this spot pays less than a Unit manager but more than a manager.

11. Division manager: Directs the activities of the Plant Managers within regional multi-plant operations and interfaces with the State Division Operations officer for their commodity

‘Superperson’ will be around thirty years old at this stage of the game but this will be a rare occurrence. From here we jump to the State office of Division Operations.

1. State Division Operations Officer: Directs the efforts of plant managers and coordinates their outputs and efforts with the other units of their Division within the State. These officers also interface with regional Division management and direct units under their supervision of regional and national initiatives and goals.

2. Operations Support Specialist III: Those who pass the Division Manager’s test but lose the election are eligible for these positions. You will be paid more than a Unit Manager will but less than a Division Manager makes. This position will provide excellent training for both Division Manager’s and State Division Operations Officer’s spots.

From here we make the leap to Regional Division Management.

3. Regional Division Operations Officer: Directs the efforts of State Division Operations Officer’s and coordinates their efforts with the other six regions that make up National Division Operations.

4. Division Planning Officer: This spot oversees the Regional Division Operations Officers and forecasts the production and personnel requirements for the Region.

6. Operations Support Specialist II: Those who pass the Division Planning Officer test but lose the election are eligible for these positions. You will be paid more than a Regional Division Operations Officer but less than a Division Planning officer will. At this point you will become heavily involved with the operation of your regional Division from a logistics aspect.

7. Assistant Division Chairperson: There will be two open slots to compete for at this level. Assistant Chair people will work closely with the Division Chairperson to plan the direction of the Division and implement new processes and procedures.

8. Operations Support Specialist I: Those who pass the Regional Division Treasurer test but lose the election are eligible for these positions. You will be paid more than a Division Planning Officer will but less than a Regional Division Treasurer will.

9. Division Chairperson: Top of the Regional food chain. Whoever sits in this seat decides what needs doing and how it will get done on a regional basis and as directed by the National Division Leadership.

Again, Superperson will be around Thirty-nine years old at this point but this should be an extremely rare occurrence.

National Division Leadership

Each of the twelve Division chairpersons from each of the six regions will compete for the position of National Division chairperson.

This provides a field of seventy-two candidates for the highest office in the land.

Each one of them will have demonstrated experience in how the Divisions run and a keen awareness of the needs of the people through their hands on experience.

The competition for Division leadership will test the candidates on their ability to make tough decisions quickly, their personal integrity and their vision or grasp if you will of where we are and where we’re going.

The top three candidates will form the leadership triad as the fate of a Nation is a heavy responsibility to lay upon any one person.
Since ties are unacceptable at this level, testing will continue until only three distinct winners emerge. The three will ‘rule’ by consensus with the top scoring candidate’s decision being final in the event of a deadlock.

The three Divisions that need to replace their chairperson will conduct a run-off test from their pool of eligible candidates after the leadership is chosen.

I wish to explain the reason behind using ‘manufacturing’ titles for positions within Division hierarchy. Each endeavor ‘produces’ a product or service, thus ‘production’. While job titles currently vary from skill to skill, job functions do not.

Many organizations are verbally top heavy with many impressive titles translating directly to ‘support specialist’ once the grandiose title is taken away.

Division Society is driven by supply and demand within truly free markets. The pyramid shape is still apparent but with private ownership taken out of the picture, the tops slots are now open to all that possess the drive, ambition and personal integrity to climb the ladder.

The most qualified person wins every time. The Divisions do not tolerate nepotism or patronage. No one has the power to ‘appoint’ anyone or to ‘create’ and then fill a job position without testing.

If a new avenue of employment presents itself, the Division leadership will determine who is qualified to test for the position and cause a test to be created to fill the open positions.

It will be a exile offense to ‘tailor’ a test so that only a specific candidate qualifies for a given position. It is also a exile offense to place non-pertinent material or requirements within a test as well as failing to give proper notice across all Divisions that a new position exists or to allow sufficient time for interested candidates to submit themselves.

The higher you climb, the broader your knowledge base must be. Some tests will include a portion that focuses on the individual’s personal integrity as related to the amount of power that the position tested for gives the successful candidate.

If we are to live in a just society then the penalties for cheating the system must be harsh. Fines or imprisonment have done little to prevent those who would abuse their power for personal gain from doing so.

Sadly, I predict that there will be many exiles until the shiftless realize that we aren’t messing around when it comes to the good of the many or protecting them from the self-serving among us.

Back to the task at hand…

Due to changes in how the Divisions handle money, some ‘Industries’ will disappear entirely. Specifically insurance, taxation and credit are the most obvious victims.

Sales and advertising industries will be altered to such a degree that they will cease to exist in their current form.

Since the Divisions don’t compete with each other the focus of these specialists will be directed towards assuring that the consumers are getting what they want.

It could be argued peanut butter is peanut butter, so why have more than one ‘brand’ available?

Everybody’s taste is different. Marketing will listen to the customer and inform manufacturing of what the customer wants.

Product diversity is very important to a diverse society. Sales people will disappear into either the order processing side or the marketing end of the cycle.

Advertising will become an informational function of the when and where of things rather then the exercise in brainwashing that it currently is.

While SIC codes provide a quick and simple way to identify business types it seems that not everyone understood what they were being asked when it came to classifying their business.

Many companies are listed under several SIC codes and none of them are correct. Once the Regional Division Operation Centers are set up, a shakedown will have to be conducted to weed out those units that are neither fish nor fowl.

The process of organizing the Divisions and populating them may take months thus rationing of food and fuel will be necessary to carry us through the setup phase. (Since food and fuel will be free during the set up of the Divisions, rationing will be enacted to prevent hoarding, waste and shortages.)

Not everyone is going to want to live under Division rule. Many former capitalists will flee although I wish to state right here that anyone who does not wish to stay will be provided with free transportation to any country that will have you.

Anyone who is rubbing their hands gleefully while thinking about how they are going to scam us out of all of these ‘free’ goods and services I strongly suggest that they think again and flip now to the ‘legal’ section of this guide.

The benefits of Division society are bestowed upon workers, period. There will be no such thing as ‘partial disability’ within the Divisions, if you can move your eyes then you can be a lookout! If you are really tough off, you will be institutionalized with no pay but all of your basic needs will be met.

This sounds hard and cold on the surface but people are always trying to beat the system. The Divisions will meet their social obligations to the infirm rationally.

Your money is for you and you alone. This means that when you die, your money dies with you. Every individual who lives under Division rule makes their own way from the cradle to the grave.

If you fall down somewhere in between we will carry you but if you put nothing in it means that you will get nothing out.

No one is ever denied the right to suitable work and like I commented above, even if you can only move your eyes, we will find or make a way for you to participate and earn the benefits that are yours by right if you desire.

Here is perhaps the key difference regarding life under Division rule. You work and your money is for you and you alone. The Divisions will include motherhood as a paid skill and every child born to a family will provide greater income to their mother so she can support the children.

Key words, your money is for you. The money paid to your mate is for her and the resultant children. If you slap ‘mommy’ around until she surrenders the card (there will be no cash) well, this is considered stealing. (See general law # 3.)

Should fate remove mommy from the picture and daddy is both willing and can demonstrate that he’s competent, the Divisions will pay daddy to raise the children.

To avoid the ‘baby factory’ phenomenon, three kids and ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ get automatically sterilized.

Law and Order

Justice and equal treatment under the law is the foundation of any just society. A society will disintegrate once its laws become slanted to protect the interests of the power elite and enforcement of the law becomes selective and prejudiced.

General laws

For our first law, I submit the Human Anti-Exploitation law which makes it illegal for any human to earn their living from the sweat of any other's brow.

You weren't born to be someone else's donkey!

1. All laws apply equally to all citizens regardless of their rank or station within the society. No one under any circumstances shall be allowed to exempt himself, herself or any other individual or group from any law set down herein.

The intent of this law is to prevent anyone (including me) from making themselves the omnipotent ruler. It also acts to insure against other abuses of authority and self-enrichment at the expense of the rest of society.

2. The intent of a law takes precedence to the lettering of a law in as much that an act that could be construed to break the letter of the law but not the intent would not be considered a crime. Acts that do not break the letter of the law but violate the intent of an existing law would be a considered a crime.

3. Theft for the purpose of self-enrichment in any form is an exile offense.

4. Your money is for you. Monetary compensation can only be obtained through employment within the Divisions. Cash or the use of any other form of hard currency is an exile offense.

5. The transfer of funds of any kind between private individuals or groups is strictly prohibited.

6. The establishment of for profit ventures of any kind is strictly prohibited. Anyone engaging in this type of activity will be exiled.

7. Credit or the creation of debt is an exile offense. The only lawful debt recognized by the Divisions is that of the individual to trade their labor in exchange for the benefits that is their right as a citizen of the Divisions. Any individual or group that places any citizen or group through whatever means within their debt will be exiled.

8. Murder by stealth or killing a defenseless individual is an exile offense. The only exemption from this law is wartime where the safety of the individual’s combat unit or the security of the Divisions themselves is at risk.

9. Claiming personal or group ownership of any land(s) or resource(s) within the borders of the Divisions is strictly prohibited and punishable by exile. The granting of any such rights by any group or individual is strictly prohibited and shall be considered a exile offense.

10. All ‘intellectual’ properties are the domain of the Divisions. There shall be no royalties or commissions paid to any individual or group for innovations, inventions or artistic works of any kind. The Divisions will reward the creator(s) innovative ideas, new inventions or inspired artistry with a one-time award of either money or perquisites commensurate with the merit of the idea or work.

11. Taxation or causing pools of money to be collected for any purpose is strictly prohibited. Money is created by work and erased once it is traded back to the Divisions for goods or services. Anyone obtaining money by any other means than working or who contrives to pay themselves more than their just wages is guilty of theft and shall be punished accordingly. (See # 3)

12. All citizens of the Divisions are required to trade their labor in exchange for the benefits of Division society until they meet the requirements for retirement. Only those deemed totally incapacitated by the medical Division are exempt from this requirement.

13. Religion. The Divisions recognize the right of every citizen to worship or not as they please. The Divisions recognize no religions of any kind and make no provision for compensation of self-proclaimed or ‘ordained’ clerics of any faith. While ideology and divinity will still be valid topics taught by the education Division, the ‘professional’ practice of religion is strictly prohibited. Houses of worship will continue to be maintained by the Divisions but the faithful are prohibited from exempting their leaders from their obligation to work for the Divisions. It can be said that we all do the work of the lord but the Divisions require that we do it on our own time.

Testing

In Division society every individual is required to prove that they are qualified to do what they do. Testing begins at the start of a citizen’s working career and continues until they attain mastery of their craft. Crossing the line into management commits the individual to annual testing to continue to hold the position as well as to advance.

1. Once the level of master has been achieved the worker is no longer required to test for the purpose of career advancement. Masters will still be required to test at intervals determined by their Division in order to keep their skills current and their certifications valid.

2. Every individual who aspires to management must test annually to keep their current position as well as to advance to the next level if they desire.

3. No individual, regardless of how talented they are, is allowed to advance more than one level per annual test period. This requirement is to insure that intellect keeps pace with perspective (maturity).

4. Once testing for advancement begins it is unlawful for any person or group to suspend or postpone the tests for any reason.

5. Division Services bears the responsibility of insuring that suitable tests are available across all Divisions in a timely manner. Due to the scope of the testing process, tests will be staggered throughout the calendar year.

6. Once an individual is certified in a skill, that individual may laterally transfer (to a different Division) without loss of benefits and they are entitled to test for positions within their new Division that they are qualified for.

7. Every Division must test new job candidates and those transferring in from other Divisions to insure that they are qualified to perform their skill within the organizational structure. This testing is to be conducted on an ‘as need’ basis. Results of the ‘skill audit’ test cannot to be used for advancement or to circumvent the one-year minimum service requirement between skill levels.

8. It will be an exile offense to ‘tailor’ or in any way alter a test so that only a specific candidate or group qualifies for a given position.

9. Placing non-pertinent material or requirements within a test, failing to give proper notice across all Divisions that a new position exists or failing to allow sufficient time for interested candidates to submit themselves is a capital crime.

10. Circumventing the testing process in any way is an exile offense. No individual has the authority to appoint or fill a compensated position with the individual or group of their choice. (It is lawful to serve in a non-compensated capacity so long as that capacity is advisory or consultative in nature and carries no decision-making authority.)

11. It is an exile offense to create a position (compensated or not) that usurps any or all of the power of the Division leadership or that circumvents in any way the chain of command as laid out herein.

Due Process

1. The professional practice of law is strictly prohibited. Any individual charged with an exile offense is responsible for their own defense to the best of their ability.

2. The law recognizes that the accused is innocent until proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be guilty.

3. The burden of proving that the accused did in fact commit the crime is laid upon the investigators of the given crime.

4. A trial by jury will be convened as swiftly as possible once the facts of the case have been determined.

5. The jury shall consist of three people who know the accused personally and four who do not. The accused shall have no choice in selecting the jurors who know them but will be allowed to challenge any juror they feel may harbor a grudge against them.

6. The accused is allowed three challenges and can only challenge the three jurors who are known to him. Once the accused uses up his three challenges or is satisfied with the jury then the trial will commence.

7. An ‘adjudicator’ from Division services will preside over the case and act as a referee. The facts and circumstances of the case will be heard by the jury with the accused being allowed ample opportunity to either explain or challenge any points raised by the investigators.

8. It is up to the jury to decide guilt or innocence by a simple majority vote.

9. If the accused is found guilty then the jury must also determine the punishment.

10. If in the jury’s opinion the case has mitigating circumstances then they are permitted to offer a lesser punishment than that prescribed by the law.

11. There will be no prisons within the Divisions, only facilities to hold secure those awaiting trial.

12. Alternative forms of punishment are limited only by the creativity of the jury with imprisonment being the only option denied to them.

13. The convict has the right to refuse the alternative offered by the jury and thereby accepts the punishment prescribed by law.

14. Anyone that falsely accuses another individual or group of a crime with either malicious intent or for personal gain or for the gain of another shall be punished by exile. Mistakenly accusing someone of a crime is just that, a mistake. In the absence of malicious intent or some type of personal gain arising from the accusation, this act is not a crime.

Civil Code

It is the view of the Divisions that laws should be few and simple. A rational person is assumed to be peaceful and law abiding. The problem lies in the fact that we all tend to be irrational at times.

The Divisions prohibit lawyers, sitting judges or civil courts. Individuals or groups are forbidden to ‘sue’ other individuals or groups because the only way to get money is to work for it.

Fines exacted for violations of the civil code are simply erased from the violator’s account, no one gets it.

Lawyers create quibbling about the nuance of the law and sitting judges become full of themselves, interpreting the laws and meting out punishment (or not) however they see fit.

Removing the ability of people to solve their own conflicts begets more conflict. The attitude becomes, “If you don’t like it, sue me!” with the wealthier of the two belligerents usually being declared the winner. This is not justice and it forces all of us to live in a much less than civil environment.

Dueling was outlawed because it begot feuds however, outlawing dueling hasn’t prevented feuds from starting anyway as evidenced by the current court system’s caseload.

People seldom think before they speak because they know that the law will protect them. The target of their verbal tirades must prove in court that they were ‘wronged’ in some way, which is difficult at best if not downright impossible most of the time.

I begin this section with the most controversial of the civil laws.

1. Dueling as a method of settling personal quarrels or disputes is legal. The rules of legal dueling are set forth below.

2. The duel must be held inside a special facility designed specifically for this purpose as a matter of public safety.

3. It is unlawful to have a ‘second’, the Divisions will provide security for all matches and only the belligerents are allowed inside the facility for the duel. The matches will be recorded as a security precaution to monitor for cheating. The public display of such tapes is strictly prohibited. (This is a matter of honor, not a public spectacle.)

4. The challenged has both the right to refuse and the right to ‘qualify’ the extent of the match along with the choice of weapons.

5. ‘Qualify’ means that the challenged decides if the match will be to the death or not before the match is to begin. Dueling is dangerous and someone may die regardless. This is a risk that both combatants agree to take.

6. There is a mandatory forty-eight hour ‘cooling off’ period before a duel can be held. Either party may cancel their participation right up to the time when they enter the facility. Once inside the facility the duel will be held.

7. Dueling is considered a battle upon the field of personal honor. The use of poisons, toxins or chemical agents of any kind is strictly prohibited.

8. Only the belligerents are allowed into the facility, this means that no dangerous animals or other outside agents can be used in the contest.

9. The use of explosive devices, machine guns or any weapon to large for the combatants to carry without mechanical aid or that will endanger the safety of the neutral observers are strictly prohibited.

10. The use of prohibited items is considered cheating. Anyone caught cheating will be exiled if they are not executed on the spot by the neutral observers.

11. Anyone under twenty-one years of age is forbidden to duel.

The need to have a mechanism for the redress of personal grievances is critical. Block this avenue and murder along with all other types of violent crime will become rampant.

This law also serves the purpose of making the Divisions largely self-policing. While we are all taught by our parents to live by the ‘golden rule’ of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” There will now be a damn good reason to follow this rule and for everyone to conduct themselves accordingly.

The knuckle draggers who will duel at the slightest provocation will meet their betters soon enough and dueling will become a rare occurrence in just a short time.

Choice of weapons can tip the scales in the smaller person’s favor, which is why the old rules of only pistols or swordplay are out the window. A clever opponent need not fear a larger one if they become proficient in the use of a unique weapon.

The rational person will be very leery of challenging anyone to a duel because issuing the challenge puts all of the aces in the other fellow’s hand.

I’d like to refocus on the big picture for a moment. You work for money and the only place to spend your money is through the Divisions.

The Divisions will never knowingly shortchange you and if a Division employee does, the weight of the law falls upon them as this is considered a criminal act.

To prevent or minimize crime there is no cash and there is also no (lawful) way for individuals to exchange money between each other. This fact alone should keep disputes to a minimum.

The Divisions do not recognize ‘debts’ between individuals and it is a crime for anyone to place another in the position of real or imagined indebtedness beyond their obligation to trade their labor in exchange for the benefits of Division society.

The non-recognition of personal debts and the criminalization of the act of placing anyone in debt works as a safety mechanism to minimize fraud and coercion. It will not prevent those who are of a mind to from committing such acts; it will just slow them down a little.

With that said, my strongest defense of this law is to say that while dueling is barbaric, it serves to make society on the whole much more civil and it is far more preferable to the alternative, a police state with a corrupt civil court system.

Civil Code (cont.)

2. Matrimony: The Divisions recognize the right of the individual to form unions for the purpose of rearing children. The Divisions also recognize their responsibility to intermediate over the dissolution of such unions.

In as much as the Divisions recognize motherhood as a paid profession they also offer the mother the choice of continuing to work rather than forcing the onus full time parenting upon them.

The Divisions provide (financially) for the children from the moment of birth to the grave. Housing arrangements are bestowed with the children’s needs in mind, not the parents.

The Divisions believe in fairness and the right of the children to have access to both of their biological parents. With this thought in mind, dissolution of the union is granted with the provision that both parents share equally in the continuance of the child-rearing task.

Either mate can elect to leave the children’s home but they are obliged to amicably shoulder their share of the burden of finishing what they began.

Either parent (with the agreement of the other) is permitted to walk away from the relationship if they feel continued exposure to their former spouse is damaging to their children’s emotional well being. (The Divisions do not ‘default’ to the mother being automatically granted custody)

Women who chose to bear children without forming a union with the biological father accept the responsibilities of single parenthood with eyes wide open. The Divisions will provide for the children and care for them in the same manner as children born within the bounds of matrimony.

3. Childcare: Funds provided by the Divisions for childcare are to be used for precisely that, caring for the children and meeting their needs. Parents who misuse Division funds thereby neglecting the needs of their children will have the children removed from their custody and face possible exile for gross or repeated offenses. Parents that physically or sexually abuse their children or knowingly allow either spouse to do so are subject to exile.

The Divisions consider children to be our single most important resource. Our children are our future!

4. The Divisions believe in supporting a sense of community and will strive to create ‘enclaves’ for like-minded individuals to live in within each metropolitan area.

The purpose of this initiative is to minimize conflicts between neighbors and with planning, between neighborhoods. Individuals are cautioned to choose their preference carefully as extricating someone from a poor decision may take time.

Social organizations, clubs and groups of any sort are welcome to visit their local Division services office to establish their own enclave.

In the interest of peaceful co-existence, no group will be allowed to specify the location of their enclave. Local Division Services has total discretion to the placement of enclaves within their city or town.

Let it be stated here that ‘Choice’ properties within any municipality are reserved for the community’s high ranking Division employees.

This is part in parcel with the Division compensation / incentive program. Work hard, achieve and you’ll be rewarded, not just with money but with the finer things in life.

5. Rules of the road: The crowed, overtaxed highway system has created new realities. A new, stricter licensing process will be implemented with an emphasis on skills that enhance traffic flow.

If you find driving either scary or boring then you will no longer have to concern yourself as it is unlikely that you will qualify for a new license.

If you somehow manage to pass the road test and still drive like a bonehead, you will stop quick as the fines will be stiff. (Like drive or eat stiff!) Enough said.

6. Substance abuse: The Divisions recognize the futility of the war on drugs. All popular recreational drugs will be processed for purity, quality and made available from Division stores in various dosages.

Drug abuse resistance education will still be provided in school and the under age use of recreational drugs will still be prohibited.
While drugs are legalized, they won’t be cheap or free from the onus of responsible use. Being stoned to the bone on the job will have you on the outside looking in quick! (Exile, if you can’t help yourself, we can’t help you either.)

It is legal to grow or whip up and ‘do’ anything you like, just remember that you do so at your own peril. Kill someone with one of your concoctions and you’ll be defending yourself on a murder rap!

7. Arms: The Divisions recognize the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms for their personal defense either openly or concealed. Only weapons that fire exploding projectiles are prohibited from use as personal defense weapons. (Tanks fall under this category)

8. Personal Possessions: With the private ownership of resources being prohibited by law and with most other items being provided free of charge by the Divisions, items defined as personal possessions will be few.

Personal possessions are hereby defined as any item or work that you yourself create or if it costs you money to obtain or any durable item of sentimental value (only) that is either given to you as a gift or received as a legacy.

The ‘only’ implies that if the item in question belongs in a museum, that’s where it’s going regardless of how long it’s been in your family.

We all have a job to do in this life and the ‘hoarding’ of rare or precious items isn’t one of them. The ‘trappings’ of the formerly wealthy automatically revert to the public domain upon the creation of the Divisions.

Your personal possessions are the only things that you will have to bequeath to your children should you decide to have any, your money dies with you.

9. Bartering: While bartering between individuals is legal, the individual is cautioned to be wary. You will have no legal recourse beyond dueling if the other party fails to fufill their part of any bargain. Likewise, the creation of indebtedness is also illegal and you may find yourself being exiled as well as getting screwed.

10. Disturbing the peace: Division society is built around its children. Children need their sleep so they can concentrate in school. There is a time and a place for everything. The individual is admonished to act responsibly as failure to do so will cost you money. Repeated irresponsible behavior will get you exiled.

11. Exile: A one way trip to the badlands where everyone is free to do as they please. The Divisions do not believe in prisons. Thus, anyone who is not willing to conform to the rules of Division society will have the benefits of Division society withdrawn from them.

12. Capital Crimes: The Divisions believe that Darwin is right. Commit a hideous, selfish act and the punishment is to pay the ultimate price. If you screw up big time in nature, you die! It is likewise with the Divisions. Most capital offenses are related to abuses of power or trust. The audacity to screw over the many for your own personal gain revokes your right to live.

The above are the basics of the civil code. New laws may be enacted on an as need basis. The prohibition against the professional practice of law is to prevent perversion of the laws and laws being written and enacted just because it is someone’s job to sit there and think up new laws.

I did not specifically prohibit such things as public nudity or lewd behavior because the ‘enclaves’ will be allowed to set their own standards of acceptable conduct within the realm of the general laws.

Every Division citizen is free to pursue life, liberty and happiness in as much as it does not intrude upon anyone else’s pursuit of the same.

In short, all are free to do there own thing so long as they take care that their pleasure does not turn into someone else’s misery.

The question that faces this type of laissez-faire freedom is just how tolerant can we be? The police state has forced us to learn tolerance; will the Divisions reverse that?

It is my sincere hope people will understand that their ‘freedom’ to do as they please is directly proportionate to their tolerance of others to do the same.

It may be a ‘hassle’ to consult your neighbors before having a jam session with a few friends but forethought and consideration for your neighbors should foster the same from those around you.

Just as capital crimes stem from abuses of power or authority, civil crimes will result in fines for lack of consideration for the impact of your actions upon others.

Civil fines will not only cost you money; they will also add ‘points’ to your criminal record. Accumulate enough points and you will be invited to go where you can do as you please without bothering anyone, exile.

Anyone who feels ‘there ought to be a law’ is free to submit his or her suggestions to Division services for consideration. Anyone who witnesses any violation of the laws set down herein is invited to report the infraction to Division services for immediate investigation.

Labor Laws

Nothing happens if nobody gets off their dead ass and does it. No one wants to be the victim of unfair labor practices nor do they want to face the prospect of having to do all of the work by virtue of their being the low man on the totem pole.

1. The Divisions will utilize a quota/ time standard system to measure job performance for production work. Like the piece workers of the past, if you can make your quota in less time than your shift, you’re free to get on with your life. If you make junk, you will remake the parts on your own time.

2. Non-production jobs will require the worker to keep specified hours and meet the metrics of job performance as determined by industry standards.

3. All workers are to be protected by a common Union and the Divisions will observe union/management grievance procedures for the settlement of workplace disputes.

4. Workers have the legal right to institute work stoppages if management does not act in good faith to resolve disputes in a timely manner. (See # 19)

5. Collective bargaining is illegal. Pay scales are determined by occupation/skill level alone. Striking for more pay is strictly prohibited. Abuse by management is a criminal offense; the need to strike should not exist. ‘Frivolous’ striking will add significant ‘points’ to any participating worker’s criminal record.

6. The Divisions shall observe the law of ten regarding compensation. There shall be no more than ten units between skill levels and the difference between the absolutely lowest compensated (Apprentice) to the highest compensated (Prime) shall not exceed two hundred and thirty times of what the lowest paid is compensated. (There are twenty three levels of compensation, while a factor of two hundred and thirty may seem steep remember that only one person makes this much and it is a far cry from the current practice of compensating executives over seven hundred times what the average employee makes.) Perquisites are not to be factored into overall compensation. The law of ten applies to monetary compensation only.

7. No one is obliged to work more than twenty hours within a one hundred and sixty-eight-hour week.

8. Overtime is paid after twenty hours and the individual can elect to either be paid at one and one half times their skill rate or to bank the extra time worked for future time off or use it for credit towards their retirement requirement. ‘Splitting’ of compensation (some in money and some in future time off) is also permitted.

9. There is no ‘backwards’ motion regarding compensation; failing to win in the tests does not penalize the worker. Workers are always compensated at their highest level achieved for the duration of their careers and perks earned for successful campaigns are not required to be surrendered upon defeat in the tests. Juries may offer reduction in pay scale as an alternative to a more severe form of punishment and this is the only way for a worker to lose compensation /status.

10. Upon entering the labor force the worker is entitled to three weeks compensated vacation time. They will continue to accrue additional vacation time at the rate of one additional day per year for the duration of their working career. Unused vacation time may be banked for future use or credited towards their retirement requirement on an as need, as desired basis. (It’s your time, you decide!)

11. Bereavement or family crisis; The Divisions will maintain the practice of compensating the worker for three days following the death of any relative extending as far as first cousins. If married, this applies to both partners for bereavement on either side of the family. Family crisis or extended bereavement leave is permitted for a period of up to two weeks without compensation. Extended leave is restricted to incidents where the crisis or bereavement involves immediate family members only. Immediate is defined as parents, spouse, siblings, children or grandchildren. Uncompensated leave may be extended beyond this period if the Medical Division determines that the worker requires additional time to heal before returning to work.

12. Sick Time; Every worker is allowed a dozen compensated sick days per year. Sick time refreshes every year on the worker’s birthday. Unused sick time may be carried forward and banked for future use or credited towards early retirement. Banked overtime or vacation time may be used to supplement this number as required. Extended illness beyond the workers means to support themselves requires that the Medical Division place the worker into one of their care facilities where the worker’s basic needs will be met until they are well enough to return to work. (This does not imply that a worker needs to exhaust his or her own resources before being admitted to Medical for basic needs compensation. Any illness that requires the worker to be hospitalized immediately qualifies for basic needs compensation which means that they will feed you and keep you warm during your stay.) Hospitalization for any reason other than fraud is a ‘free ride’ and does not require the worker to ‘compensate’ the medical Division for its services. (Although doing a brief volunteer gig would be a nice gesture on your part but this is not mandatory.)

13. The ‘magic number’ for retirement is eighty-seven (age plus years of service) with retirement becoming mandatory at one hundred and twenty-two. Career change is required to continue working beyond one hundred and twenty-two. Banked vacation, overtime or sick time can be credited towards early retirement. Retiring workers are compensated at half of their pre-retirement pay. There are no limitations on a retiree’s earnings and continuing to work part-time at a different position other than the one retired from does not jeopardize the retiree’s income benefit. The part-time/ career change requirement is necessary to prevent people from realizing a fifty percent pay increase due to ‘retiring’ and then continuing to work at their former position which would entitled them to receive their former pay rate plus their fifty percent retirement pay. All time worked for any Division in any capacity is counted toward satisfying the retirement requirement. Barring prolonged illness, regular retirement would be between ages fifty to seventy for the average worker.

14. Poor performance on the job will be documented. Management will observe a metric of ‘documented’ warnings for repeated abuses of workplace rules. Draw enough warnings (no less than three in a twelve-month period) and the individual may be remanded to Division services for reassignment. Drawing three remands is cause for exile.

15. Abuse of authority; including but not limited to falsification of records, favoritism, coercion of any kind, bigotry or vendetta are all criminal acts and shall be punished accordingly. Management is charged with providing guidance and support for operations, insuring that safe workplace practices are observed and to enforce compliance with quality, production and attendance standards. The management role is strictly pro-active and the manager’s job is to be the reporter. Individuals can dig their own graves; it is not management’s job to help them do it. If the individual can prove that you did, either through your actions or your failure to act, you’re in more trouble than they are as abuse of authority is an exile offense.

16. Clocking: from the lowest apprentice right up to Prime, all workers are required to ‘clock’ and account for their time on the job. Everyone not on medical exemption or waiting to stand trial on criminal charges is required to work and failure to account for your time on the job is a criminal act.

17. Holidays; There shall be at least one holiday every month. Workers who work on their holiday are entitled to ‘holiday pay’, which will be paid at double time and a half. (Time and a half for working and straight time for the day that you should have had off.) Work groups can elect to ‘float’ holidays if desired (substituting ‘minor’ holidays so they may take the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas and New Year’s Eve off for example.) Working a ‘floated’ holiday entitles the worker to holiday pay on the ‘floated’ day rather than upon the true holiday’s date. Holidays that fall on weekends will be celebrated/compensated on either the closest Monday or Friday to the actual day. Scheduling a vacation over one or more holidays extends the worker’s time off rather than their being ‘penalized’ and losing the time or pay.

18. Continuing Education; Skills need to be kept current as new technologies and concepts come into use. Education is free for life but you will have to surrender some of your time now and then to keep your certifications valid. Division Services will be in charge of the certification process and they will make it known who needs to take courses to upgrade their skills. The worker is responsible for keeping him or herself informed relative to new certification requirements that affect their job classification. (Division Services will make general postings; you need to read them to see if they apply to you.)

19. Due process in the workplace. Real or perceived violations of workplace rules are to be documented by management and the worker has the right to ‘grieve’ any violation that they are charged with. Grievances are forwarded to Division services where a determination is made to the validity of the charges and an answer returned as soon as practical (Within thirty working days maximum or the charge is expunged from the worker’s record.) For the same reason the Divisions prohibit the professional practice of law, there shall be no ‘stewards’ to prevent ‘quibbling’ regarding the specifics of workplace rules. The worker must defend him or herself to the best of their ability. Division services may call for a ‘hearing’ if the facts of the incident are unclear or if they seem to be reported in an uneven manner.

20. All grievances reported to Division services are required to be videotaped for ‘verbatim’ witnessing of the procedure by Division services. The worker has the right to review the tape before it is sent and must sign off that the tape is an accurate account of event in their opinion. The management member who witnesses the violation of a workplace rule must conduct this process him or herself. It is unlawful to delegate this task and criminal action will follow. Workers who witness a member of management violating workplace rules or any other violation of the law can file a grievance against the offender and forward the matter to Division services for judgement.

21. Processes and standards. Observing a spirit of cooperation and teamwork, all workers and management alike are charged to do their utmost to optimize their operations and output. The benefits of doing so will work to reduce the work requirement upon the individual and meet the needs and wants of society as a whole. Grieving process changes is only valid when it creates either a quality problem or requires unusual stamina on the worker’s part to meet production requirements. Management is charged to marshall sufficient resources so that no worker is required to rush in order to meet production requirements. Anyone who works like a bat out of hell does so of his or her own volition. Standards for production must reflect time for the average worker to move at a safe, measured rhythm. Frantic activity causes errors and burns out the worker. Management is considered workers too and on occasion management may be required step in and run a job for a shift (not just a few parts or a short time) to determine if the standard is valid or if the process can be improved upon.

22. All citizens are guaranteed freedom of mobility. Any worker who so desires is free to seek employment elsewhere in the Divisions if they dissatisfied with their current situation. Any citizen at any time is free to leave the Divisions for any reason but acknowledges that this decision is irrevocable. Once anyone leaves the Divisions they are forbidden to return. (Citizens are workers who are not currently under criminal investigation, criminals are not allowed to invoke their right to mobility to flee justice. For this reason anyone wishing to leave the Divisions is required to give thirty days notice prior to being allowed to depart.) Transportation to elsewhere is free but individuals are prohibited from taking any Division property with them when they leave.

This ends the legal section of Division rule and sums up what life under the Division will be like. I feel I have provided adequate protection for both worker and management alike to achieve a society that is truly free in most aspects of the word.
The ‘imprecision of speech’ has doubtlessly left holes in the fences that will need to be fixed later but I have created a solid foundation to build upon.

The following is the latest version of the famous Ten Commandments.

1. Thou art a free and just people, suffer no one from within or without to inflict tyranny upon you.
2. Rise up and make the most of your potential, opportunities never before available await you.
3. Courtesy and respect are free, use both liberally.
4. Suffer no one to rob you of your freedom to live as you chose in as much as you do no harm to others by doing so.
5. Champion selflessness and support others who do likewise. You will reap a better world for it.
6. Be tolerant and slow to judge others, for they are judging you also.
7. Guard your reputation, it may save your life someday.
8. Keep your eye on the big picture for gradualism will surly rob you of your freedoms.
9. Think before you act or speak as life offers no ‘reset button’ and you can’t ‘take it back’ once it’s out there.
10. Lead by example and treat others as you would have them treat you.

You are the Divisions, you are the law and you make it happen! None of this is possible without you!
Some may think I have put the cart in front of the horse here as none of this is going to happen if there is no revolution to make it so.

I consider writing this book my patriotic duty for I do love this country of ours, I just don’t much care for what’s happening to our people and there’s no way we can fix this situation through the corrupt system that’s been left for us.

It’s interesting to note that if you are looking for any organization that is attempting to amass support for a revolt, you won’t find them on the Internet. Must be one big old happy world out there or our rebel wannabe’s are all a bunch of chickens!

Mainstream dissent is almost unheard of these days and one must wonder with all of the reasons to be dissatisfied why no one is speaking up.

The logical reason seems to be ‘censorship’. Wealthy capitalists own our ‘free press’ and they certainly don’t wish to promote the concept that anyone within this country is less than ecstatic with the Status Quo.

If you have purchased this book and hear nothing about it in the media, you’ll know why, it’s being suppressed! Just because the media ignores it doesn’t mean that things are not moving forward.

I do not have the means to print this book and distribute it for free although I will make it available on the Internet for free.

Buying the book serves the dual purpose of allowing me to monitor support for the revolt along with circulating hardcopy of the uncorrupted text so that the laws set down herein don’t ‘mysteriously’ change when the Divisions are established.

The wealthy may decide that they can live without their rental/mortgage income but continuing to allow the private ownership of resources puts everyone right back where we started and they will make up for their losses and more if we aren’t careful.

I guess I could carry on for chapters about how the system screws us but this is nothing that you don’t already know. You may not admit it to yourself very often but you know its true. When you count your blessings does it go something like this;

‘Thank God I have a job, well actually I have two jobs and the both of them together don’t crack my nut. I’m healthy which is a damn good thing because I can’t afford medical insurance. We have food on the table, dog food but it’s something to eat. We have a roof over our head (at least until the end of the month… ‘)

Perhaps things aren’t this bad, yet. Can you see this day coming in your life? I stare at it all of the time. So far I have managed to keep the wolves from the door but the hole gets a little deeper every day and soon I’m going to fall in and disappear, sucked down the tubes.

Regardless of what happens to me, keep an eye on my author’s site and if that disappears, it will return elsewhere soon for I have taken precautions to keep the cause rolling.

I call upon the selfless and truly brave among you to rally behind this noble cause. What I propose here is not for me, it’s for all of our children.

You may not be convinced that what I offer here is the right answer but I submit to you, do you have a better idea? There are those out there who are calling for a return to our founding father’s ‘original intent.’

There are several problems with this notion starting with the fact that we would remain a capitalist nation and continue to allow private ownership of what we all need to live.

Any system that relies on the ‘benevolence’ of our fellow man is sure to enslave us.

This is the reason why the Divisions punish abuse of authority harshly. It will take a very clever individual indeed to ‘dance between the cracks’ in Division law.

There are others out there that support anarchy. With no one to enforce the laws or if there aren’t any laws at all, how long will it be before we all become some despot’s slaves?

The Divisions have no ‘formal’ government, only management. Division management is charged with protecting the rights of its citizens and providing for the peace and safety of all who live under Division rule. Yes, the Divisions will have armed forces and the Division leadership will command them, leader wannabes will be tested for their ‘strategic planning’ abilities.

I have seen others that are seeking a single world government under the notion that unity will lead to an end of strife. Once again I foresee that the ‘flaw’ in this idea is that there will still be ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ along with the high likelihood that capitalism will still reign supreme.

I predict that this ‘New World Order’ will bring with it a police state so draconian that resistance will be futile. The ‘haves’ will live in sequestered splendor while the rest of us live in crime infested squalor. Is this the future that you want for your children?

The price of a college education continues to escalate exponentially. Many are already ‘priced out’ of the housing market and education will be next.

The wealthy still need ‘lackeys’ and the brighter of our children will be offered ‘scholarships’ while the rest will have to chase down their next meal with a stick and kill it.

Ten years ago the rule of thumb was if you weren’t making your age (in income) you weren’t making it.

Ten years later the bar has raised to if you aren’t making at least eighty thousand, you aren’t making it. What will this figure be ten years from now? [We went from millionaires to billionaires if that gives you a hint!]

Median income in this country is around twenty-five thousand which means that a lot of us aren’t making it, so what of our future?

Should we cross our fingers and pray for a miracle? Do you hope that God will save us? Just remember that God helps those who help themselves.

What I have laid out for you here is the path that needs to be followed if there is to be any hope for a civil society in the very near and crowded future.

The most I can hope for is that I made you think about who you are, where your place in the world is and what lies ahead if nothing is done to prevent the coming storm.

About Me

I have just perused the media offerings for today and concluded, amazingly, that in a world that is truly falling apart, they have nothing to say!

So for today’s ‘treat’, you can read me, ‘unplugged’.

Let’s start with my humble beginnings, shall we?

No I’m not going to bore you with my tawdry upbringing because being raised poor has little to do with anything…although I doubt I’d be who I am today had I been born with anything even resembling a ‘silver spoon’ protruding from any orifice!

So yes, it is at least tangentially relevant that I was born poor and remain poor to this day.

Um, contrary to popular belief, I have never set myself on a path to ‘conquer the world’…and, unsurprisingly, might be accused of failing because I didn’t’ set my sights high enough.

But we can’t ALL conquer the world…and maybe that is my fracture because my goal always has been the ‘greatest good’.

Why is it in a world so full of bounty that only a few get to enjoy it?

And the answer comes back (quite quickly I might add:) mismanagement.

The system itself is deeply flawed and remains that way due to deep corruption!

But I preach to the choir, do I not?

Everybody knows.

So why doesn’t ‘somebody’ DO SOMETHING about it?

Have we all been so deeply indoctrinated with ‘go along to get along’ that none of us dare ‘rock the boat’ (even though it is headed over a cliff?)

Although I’d daresay we have already gone over that cliff, rocking the boat now would merely remove the only thing between you and the jagged rocks below.

As thin as that object may be,

And no, it is unlikely you will survive that sudden stop that follows every long fall.

But I digress…(and do so with such frequency that I fear few of you can follow my, er, ‘insights’ to their conclusions.)

Which is to announce that I suspect my son isn’t the only one with ADD.

Meaning he comes by his ‘honestly’.

So let’s return to the beginning (because we’re gonna end up there anyway) and try not to ‘squander the opportunity’ which the slavers among us are prepared to defend with their worthless lives.

Yes good citizen, there are those among us who support slavery so long as it is not they who are the slaves.

They will inflict a fate worse than death upon YOU if their children are spared.

Did I lose you again? Try to keep up, eh?

These ‘true believers’ form a singular barrier to a fair and equitable society. They must be eliminated OR those they follow/obey must be, er, ‘eradicated’ for subsequent generations to be free.

No ‘half measures’ here good citizen, this is not a ‘once and done’ proposition.

Which is to say vigilance is key. We may succeed in sweeping them aside (temporarily) but they will regroup and start over if we provide them with the mechanisms they need to corrupt society.

Their ‘tool of choice’ is (and always will be) ‘hard currency’. Without it, it becomes near impossible to ‘bribe’ others towards your way of thinking.

This is why you are ‘trained’ to demand money you can touch…while money itself remains an ‘idea’.

Fix this and we break the slaver’s back.

The other ‘trump card’ the slaver holds is their control of the workplace. They get to decide who ‘prospers’ and who starves.

A decidedly toxic power to have in a world where survival depends on ‘participation’.

If they don’t let you play, you can’t prosper…legally.

That is the ‘powder keg’ the unemployment situation has become.

Yet the conservatives (those who would enslave you) still preach that it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make yourself ‘USEFUL’ to the employer.

And soon SOME OF YOU may be able to ‘redeem’ yourselves by being willing to DIE for people who wouldn’t ordinarily spit on the best part of you!

Oh, you’ll be a hero for taking a bullet for them but you can almost hear them shriek ‘idiot’ as you fall to the ground, clutching your vitals!

Um, I find myself apologizing after these solo flights if only because a trip through the landscape that is my mind can be a pretty disturbing experience for those who don’t usually think along those lines.

So, in short…(not that I’m particularly comfortable with the short version of anything) A Simple Plan was designed to facilitate the ‘equality’ we need to move forward as a species.

If we don’t learn to live together, we will not survive to go forth and meet new (and hopefully more intelligent) races across the cosmos.